A Tree Grows in Brooklin, and Belfast, and Bangor...

June 26, 2023

Every spring, usually around early to mid-May, an amazing migration of sorts happens across Maine. Very young trees, white and red spruce and white cedar to be exact, begin their journey from Atlantic Canada and Michigan, respectively, to city parks, schoolyards, land trusts and backyards all across the state.

District Forester Randy Lagasse picks up spruce seedlings donated by Irving Woodlands Over the last decade, Irving Woodlands and CedarWorks have generously donated over 250,000 seedlings to Project Canopy, a program of the Maine Forest Service (MFS). In turn, Project Canopy, along with 11 MFS District Foresters, distributes these baby trees throughout Maine to the schools, municipalities and non-profits who request them. A few may languish in a child's backpack after an Arbor Day celebration. Still, most are planted in communities across Maine, growing up to 70 tall over their lifetimes, providing shade, wildlife habitat, windbreaks, erosion and stormwater control, clean air and beautiful scenery.

Here's a sampling of this year's seedling destinations:

  • Volunteers at the Augusta Nature Center planted four dozen or so red and white spruce seedlings. The seedlings were interplanted in the riparian area along Whitney Brook, adjacent to a popular recreational trail and Greater Augusta Utility District access road. The area is heavily infested with invasive plants; with luck, the spruce seedlings will eventually help restore native trees to the site. District Foresters Allyssa and Jared Gregory hand out seedlings at the Stewardship Education Alliance fair in Camden

  • At the Stewardship Education Alliance (SEA) Fair in Camden, hundreds of cedar and spruce were handed out to children and their parents interested in the opportunity to "adopt a tree." This included a brief lesson in shade tolerance, seedling planting, and care instructions and was a big hit. Its rare that another booth has a similar interest compared to the sea creature touch tank!

  • About 75 cedar seedlings were planted in a riparian buffer planting project along the Narraguagus River in Beddington. The effort was part of an aquatic habitat enhancement project conducted by Project SHARE, involving the installation of engineered log jams within the Narraguagus to promote the creation of a habitat suitable for Atlantic salmon. Partners involved in the planting effort included Maine Forest Service, Maine Audubon, Maine DEP, Maine DMR and the USFWS. Seedlings were planted along both sides of the river in suitable locations.

  • With the help of the Central Aroostook Soil and Water CD staff, over 1,100 seedlings of spruce, cedar and hemlock were planted on University Maine Presque Isle campus grounds for windbreak, sound reduction and biodiversity. A wind buffer near the Presque Isle DEP office was replanted with about 25 trees, and the Presque Isle Recreation and Parks planted about 50 trees along the Bike Path on the south end of the route.
  • The Belfast Free Library offered an adoption kit complete with an adoption certificate, Tree Owners Manual, stickers, bookmarks and a How To Plant a Seedling sheet
  • Lubec is regreening a park and working to reclaim areas that had been deforested adjacent to the shoreland zone.
  • Schools that have received seedlings include RSU 50, Katahdin Elementary, Limerick, Belfast, Litchfield.
  • And so many more!

If you are part of a school or community organization that would like to be considered for our seedling distribution next spring, please contact your District Forester with your project idea. If you are not sure who your District Forester is, you can look that up here: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/policymanagement/districtforesters.html

Project Canopy is Maine's urban and community forestry program. Their mission is to create and maintain healthy urban and community forests for or economic, ecological, and quality of life benefits for Mainers. Project Canopy works to keep Maine's communities green and liveable by working with municipalities and non-profits to help manage public tree resources. Through grant programs and technical assistance, they promote the planting and maintenance of trees in Maine communities. Whether planting street trees downtown or a management plan development for town forests, Project Canopy helps Maine communities stay leafy and green.